The Old Man and the Architect
by Lobsters forever
Summary: A celebration turns bloody when a drunk tries to claim Ariadne as his own. Cobb helps her out of her mess, while she helps him out of his own. Slightly Dom Cobb/Ariadne. Post Film. Please Review.


_Authors Note:_

_This is the result of random inspiration. _

_Is it any good? I doubt it. _

_But I hope you enjoy it anyway. _

**The Old Man and the Architect**

"Good evening, you are here for the party of 'S'. Is that correct?" The young and attractive blond hostess asked Ariadne as soon as she stepped into the lounge.

"Yes. Have they all arrived?" Ariadne questioned lightly, a small smile across her face.

"No, I am afraid they have not." The hostess replied, while looking down at the booklet on the small brown desk in front of her. "Only one guest has." She smiled, picked up a menu and asked "Shall I seat you?"

Ariadne nodded and followed the woman through the lounge. She had never stepped foot into a place as classy and beautiful as this. Saito had invited the entire team to celebrate their successful inception and Ariadne could not help but accept the offer.

The entire place was painted in a dark shade of blue and the walls were covered in crystal stars that shined almost as brightly as the real stars themselves. And the architecture was extraordinary. The entire roof was draped with wooden beams that connected to the floor. It was a simple detail but Ariadne appreciated the elegant atmosphere it created.

"Have you dined with us before?" The hostess asked with a soft smile on her face.

"No." Ariadne replied, looking around at the people dressed in fine clothing. Luckily, she had decided to wear a dress. If she wouldn't have, she would have most definitely stood out.

"The bar is open but it is not steward attended. Therefore you must pick up your drinks yourself. A barista will assist you. And in preciously thirty minutes, the dinner will be served. You must choose which number you desire from your menu." The hostess explained, guiding Ariadne to a booth close to the bar.

"Ariadne?" Cobb's eyes instantly met hers and he allowed himself to smile shortly.

"If you need anything, my name is Sophie and you will find me at my stand." The blond placed the menu onto the wooden table and turned her head, walking away.

Ariadne sat down, on the opposite side to Cobb, while saying "I am surprised that you made it." It had been a week since the inception and Dom had been completely love struck with the idea that he was in reality, with his _real _children. He had barely done anything all week except for take care of them.

"Well, it is because of Saito that I am finally home. I have to thank him properly." Cobb smiled and ran his fingers along the black binder that was in front of him. It was labelled '_Designs_'.

"Are you building again?" She asked, her tenor slightly higher than she would have liked.

"Just designing at the moment. But yes, hopefully one day." His eyebrows raised, a smirk playing on his lips as he looked at her. She looked stunning in that dress. Very different from her usual attire.

"Would it be alright if I could take a look?" She asked, a glimmer of hope in her voice.

"Sure." He shrugged, pushing the binder over to her side of the table while speaking "I actually could use your opinion on a few of them." He breathed out and stood up onto his feet to walk over to her side of the booth.

She took a good look at him for a moment. He looked very handsome and very young. She could tell that he was finally happy. It seemed that a smile was almost permanently on his lips now.

He sat down next to her, his leg accidentally brushing against hers as he spoke "Number 3 and 7." He opened the black binder to the third page and let her eyes look at the design. It was a large rectangular shaped building with glass windows that seemed almost oval in shape.

"This is beautiful." She ran her finger on the edge of the drawing and examined the building design carefully. "I love how you drew the bell-cast."

"How about the light capacity? Do you think it could reach a maximum?" Cobb asked, his eyes staring at her for a moment and then the picture.

"Well, that all depends on the location of course." She nodded and then turned to page 7.

"Of course." Dom echoed, agreeing with her. Ariadne really was an intelligent woman for her age.

"I'm not sure about this one." She bit down on her bottom lip and said in soft tone, knocking him out of his thoughts.

"I wasn't too sure about the Gothic style-"

"-window." Ariande continued for him and Cobb smiled at her knowledge on his field of work. "Well, why don't you try a modern glass window instead?" She shrugged once and he just stared at the design. She could tell that he was in deep thought.

"That's actually not a bad idea." Dom spoke the words slightly baffled at Ariadne's suggestion. How was she able to figure out a conflict in ten seconds, that it had taken him days to try to solve? He took a pen from his pocket and started the design on a blank landscape paper he took out from the back of his binder.

Ariadne looked over to bar for a moment and asked "Would you like something to drink?"

Cobb nodded briefly and put his pen down while asking "Yes. What should I get you?"

Ariadne chuckled at the kind gesture, stood up and replied "Please, Cobb. Continue brainstorming. I'll bring back the drinks."

"Thank you." He smiled at her, picked up his pen and continued "I'll just have a rum and coke." Ariadne nodded and walked over towards the bar, Cobb's eyes glued to her.

xxx

"Two rum and coke's, please." She smiled at the barista as she ordered the drinks for her and Dom. It was a relief that he had decided to come out and celebrate with them. She honestly had missed him and it was great to finally-

"Hey. I'm Johnny." A rough and slightly slurred voice came from her right. A tall and young brunette with an open button down shirt approached her with a large grin.

"Hi." She muttered back lowly, trying her best to ignore the man.

"Can I buy you a drink?" He asked, his hand reaching towards her arm.

She pulled herself away from him, taking a step to her left while replying "It's an open bar."

He laughed at that and Ariadne's eyes widened in annoyance. "You're funny." The man was determined. He took a closer step towards her and continued "I like that."

She impatiently tapped her fingers against the bar table and waited for the two drinks she had ordered. "Do you live around here?" He asked, his voice once again sounding slurred. If this man was not drunk, he definitely had a speech impediment.

"No." She answered shortly, her voice low.

He placed a rough hand onto hers and said "I knew that already. I would have definitely remembered you. And now your here, all alone and-" He was whispering it to her, his voice raspy.

She pulled her hand away from his grasp and said in a firm voice "Please, don't touch me."

"It's a free country." The man laughed and reached for her hand again. Ariadne pulled it back again.

"Is this man bothering you, baby?" Cobb's voice suddenly came from behind her. She and Johnny both turned their heads around to look at him. Her eyes slightly less wide than his. Johnny took a step away and let go of Ariadne's hand while looking at Cobb with narrowed eyes.

Dom placed his hand on Ariadne's middle back and leaned over and kissed her cheek before saying, looking over at Johnny, "I'm sorry I'm late. I got held up at work."

Ariadne understood perfectly well what he was doing and she was so thankful. She played along, "It's fine...honey." The word felt foreign to her, yet it felt completely _right _calling Cobb that.

The two rum and coke's were placed by the barista on the bar table in front of them before Cobb turned to Johnny and gave him a cold glare. Johnny laughed at the apparent _couple _in front of him. "You and this guy, seriously?" He asked, a loud laugh still pouring out of his voice box.

"Let's just go." Ariadne rolled her eyes and picked up both of the drinks in her hands.

"Yeah, walk away you little whore." Johnny laughed again.

"What did you just say?" Dom asked, his eyes wide with anger and his upper lip flaring. He took a step towards him and Ariadne couldn't help but notice that people were starting to notice the argument.

"Cobb, its fine. He's-" Ariadne began but was interrupted.

"No, its not okay Ariadne." He took a last and final step towards Johnny and said "You can't talk to a woman like that."

"I can talk to whoever I want to, however I want to, Grandpa." Johnny responded, still giggling. Two more men, his friends perhaps, stood behind him.

_Grandpa_? Did this man just call him that? "I'm not even going to bother." Dom rolled his eyes and quickly turned around. Ariadne sighed in relief at his decision. There was no need for a confrontation over something like this.

"Don't break a hip with your whore, old man." Johnny spat out, chuckling along with his friends.

But Cobb stopped dead in his tracks, turned around and clenched his hand together, breaking Johnny's nose almost immediately. He grabbed him by his neck and pushed his head onto the counter top, holding him down while muttering "Apologize to her."

Both of Johnny's friends stood there shocked, along with Ariadne and almost anyone watching within close proximity. When Johnny didn't say anything, Cobb lifted his head and slammed his face down onto the table again. He shouted this time "Apologize to her!"

"I'm sorry." Johnny muttered softly, blood running down his face and to his lips. Dom let go of the man and walked towards Ariadne, her eyes wide with shock.

"Sir, you must leave the premises." An overweight security guard declared from his left.

Dom shook his head as he spotted Saito walking in the lounge. "Do you see that man over there?"

The security guard looked over to see Saito and nodded before Cobb continued "I understand that he is a very important client to this establishment. Now, _I_ am a very important friend of his. And as such, I think you should let me stay." He smiled at the guard, who cleared his throat and unblocked the way back to their booth.

Dom placed an arm around Ariadne and carried out the 'act' all the way back to their booth, where Saito was already sitting down. "That was quite a show, Mr Cobb."

Cobb just smirked as he and Ariadne sat down at the table, her eyes still wide with shock. "Well, I might have gotten-"

"Cobb, you didn't have to do that." Ariadne finally whispered, once her speech came back to her.

"Yes, I did. Besides, I was happy to help." He sighed and took a drink from his rum and coke. He took out a design from his binder and passed it over to her while saying "What do you think of this one?"

"It's very elegant." She mumbled, looking it over more than once. "But-" she bit down on her bottom lip again and continued "I would change the roof; add more of an arch, maybe."

"I agree with you, Miss Ariadne. A slightly bigger curve would be more sufficient." Saito nodded once and spoke the sentence clearly.

"Hmm.." Cobb picked up his drawing and examined it carefully.

"Perhaps you need help in some things too, Cobb." She smiled at him and he chuckled, spotting both Arthur and Eames walking towards the booth. Well, perhaps he did.

"Why is there an ambulance outside?" Arthur asked, his eyes showing a sudden curiosity.

"There was a fight." Cobb answered the question quickly, his eyes shooting to Ariadne's.

"And I missed it because of you, darling." Eames rolled his eyes and hit Arthur slightly on the shoulder while continuing "We spent the last twenty minutes trying to find the perfect parking space because this knit over here couldn't decide where to leave his leave his precious car."

"It wasn't much of a fight." Ariadne chuckled and Dom's eyes narrowed onto hers. "The man didn't stand a chance."

"Really?" Arthur asked, while shrugging "I heard some old man hit him."

Dom bit down on his bottom lip and tried to hold in his anger. "Old man, huh?"

Saito was holding in a chuckle, as he motioned for the waiter to attend their table. "Let's have a look at our Menu's. Shall we?"

_Authors Note:_

_Thank you for reading. _

_I hope you enjoyed it. _

_It is not my best work but it was something that I had to write. _

_Please Review!_


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